Back in Black
by ZoeMehefin
Summary: Strange accidents in a small town gain Sam & Dean's attention. An old friend resurfaces but with a slight change. Based after S06E12 'Like a Virgin'. Rating may rise.
1. Chapter 1

It was early 2010 and the grass in my back garden was covered in frost. I wore a light jacket; I was used to this weather. Some drunken idiots had thrown a load of their beer cans in the garden and I was the one who had to clean it, the joys of living down the road from a supermarket. As I put the last can in the bag I tied it up and headed towards the bin at the bottom of the garden. There was a man standing there just looking at me. I nodded to him politely. He kept watching me. After a few minutes I decided to approach him.

"Can I help you?" I asked as I walked towards him. If he was a stalker he'd probably just walk away. Or attack me. I kept my distance to be safe. He was a young looking guy; he could have been anything from early to late 30s. His brown hair was brushed back so it didn't cover his face. He was almost good looking, except for the fact that he'd been spying on me. Creepy was never attractive.

"Do you believe in god?" He had an American accent. Suddenly his lack of coat made very little sense, unless he came from one of the colder states. His question confused me slightly. Why would that be the first thing he concerned himself with? I knew Americans were a little more serious when it came to religion, but I didn't think it would be the first topic of conversation.

"I'm open-minded." I replied. He smiled and I was instantly concerned.

"Care to hear a story?" He invited me to sit down with him on the pavement. I accepted, clutching the keys in my pocket like a weapon, just in case.

I listened to him as he explained, cynical and wary at first. He eventually convinced me that what he was saying was true. I let go of the keys and shifted slightly close to him. Sat closer I could see more of his face. His eyes looked different slightly, like the eyes of a man who had seen conflict. He laughed at jokes he made to himself as he told me about what was going on. I even made some suggestions for his situation. He turned them all down. Eventually the time came when he had to leave. He asked me something before he left, and I agreed.

There was the sound of flapping wings and he was gone.

* * *

Sam and Dean arrived in one of their usual cheap, ever-so-slightly seedy motels. Their room had two queen sized beds, and unlike some other motels it didn't have some gaudy theme that distracted them for a few moments. Dean dumped his bag on the floor and fell back onto a bed while Sam placed his carefully on a table and began to unpack.

"So what are our options here?" Dean asked. Sam looked at his brother.

"I saw a bar on the way in, we could ask for information there." Sam replied. There had been reports of some weird accidents in the area. No-one had been killed, but plenty had been put in hospital. Both of them had figured it was worth a look and seemed like a nice break from rescuing virgins from dragons.

"Or we could go directly to the hospital. Break out the suits." Dean sat up. There was a moment of silence as the brothers weighed up the cost and benefit of each of their ideas.

* * *

"Always with the scissors."

"Scissors wins 1/3 of the time, dude."

"Not when you always play against the same guy, Dean." Sam muttered as they entered the bar. Dean left his side instantly; there was a Ms Pacman machine on the other side of the bar. Sam bought a couple of beers, placed one on the machine which his brother was already placing quarters into, and returned to the bar to sit down.

Dean angrily smacked the side of the machine.

"Women problems?" A voice laughed from beside him. Dean looked to see it was a young girl. Well, he assumed it was a girl. With her short brown hair and complete lack of chest, she could have passed for a guy if it wasn't for her voice. He half-laughed and resumed playing. Out of the corner of his eye his saw the girl reach for his beer.

"What are you doing?" he asked, trying to sound as threatening as possible while still focusing on the game.

"Having a drink." She replied. Dean knew the girl knew he wouldn't abandon his game to stop her as she continued to lift the beer and take a swig. She made a weird face.

"No beer for you then." Dean laughed. The girl glared at him. Ms Pacman was being pursued by two ghosts.

"Shut it, Dean-O." she replied harshly. Dean turned to look at her, but she was gone. He quickly turned away from the game as the death tune played. There was no sign of her. He quickly rushed to the bar. "Sammy. I know what these accidents are." Sam turned to look at Dean smiling, but his face instantly dropped when he saw the look of urgency on his brother's face.

"What is it?"

"It's the Trickster."


	2. Chapter 2

"What do you mean, the Trickster? Gabriel?" Sam had taken his brother away from some of the other patrons. Dean nodded. "He's dead."

"Do you know anyone else who calls me Dean-O?" Sam paused. He did not.

"Where is he?"

"Well he's not exactly a he anymore. I think. I don't know. Ms Pacman was distracting." Dean and Sam scanned the bar, looking for anyone out of place. After about 10 minutes including asking a very confused woman to go into the bathroom for them, they gave up. Just as they were leaving, however, Sam saw something very suspicious going on in a nearby alleyway. Several guys were crowding round someone. As they closed in they noticed that someone was a very petite brunette. Dean immediately charged into the group. "Hey!" he barked. Several of the guys looked over.

"Mind your own business, asshole." One of them said before they turned their attention back to the girl.

"Oh I just made it my business, buddy." Dean grabbed the shoulder of the nearest goon turned him and punched him square in the face. The guy fell and the brothers quickly found themselves with the attention of the small mob. The leader of the group was still close in on the girl though, and Dean made it his priority to get him out of the way first. He out-manoeuvred a few of the guys and Sam caught up with him, dealing with them as they missed. When the others were unconscious, a few of them thrown in a nearby bin, they turned to look at the leader who was stood by the girl. He had her pinned against the wall, his fat hand on her shoulder.

"Why are you being so shy, girl? I was paying you a compliment." He whispered into her ear. Not even waiting for the girl to respond, Sam launched himself at the guy. Dean could only stand there and watch as his baby brother pummelled a man, but eventually he stopped. The guy was unconscious and bloody, but nothing fatal. Dean made a point of spitting on him before turning his attention to the girl. She had slumped to the floor when the guy had dropped her; Dean noticed her split lip and developing shiner from where he stood.

"You okay?" he asked, offering a hand. The girl smirked and Dean withdrew his hand instantly.

"Oh, manners out the window already Dean?" she laughed, standing up slowly.

"You owe us a lot of answers." Sam muttered, wiping his bloody nose on his shirt cuff.

"Then you best get me some chocolate."

* * *

Back in the hotel room the girl, Gabriel, sat on the counter eating a shitty 50 cent chocolate bar while Sam paced the room. No-one in the room had made a sound besides pacing and eating for 8 minutes.

"Dude, you're causing a draught." The Angel commented. Sam stopped and stared at him.

"You died."

"False." He took a large bite out of the chocolate bar, unimpressed with Sam's so-called detective skills.

"You faked your death? How?" Dean asked, finally chipping in. He hadn't said anything since the alley.

"He speaks!" Gabriel cried. Seeing the lack of reaction, he explained. "Got consent for this little number before I went to the hotel, just in case. We can do that you know; it's like booking a room. Popped out of my old vessel, gave Luci a little light show, laid low in the eastern parts of the world for a bit. Simple really."

"How old is she?" Sam asked. Gabriel ignored him.

"You know, for two numbskulls that drive the same car _everywhere, _you guys are pretty difficult to find." He hopped off the counter, throwing the wrapper onto the floor. "Where's Cas anyway? Thought you two were attached at the wrist." He held out his hand limply. Dean narrowed his eyes, unsure if he was insulting him or not.

"How old is your new vessel, Gabriel." Sam asked again, moving to pick up the discarded wrapper.

"Are you really that concerned?" Gabriel looked at Sam and for a moment the Winchester was surprised at how similar the facial expressions looked. This was Gabriel; there was no doubt.

"She looks about 12."

"She's 19."

"19! Really?" Dean exclaimed, walking over to Gabriel. "She's so short!" He ruffled his hair condescendingly.

"I'm the same height as you." Gabriel retorted. Sam laughed as Dean stuffed his hands into his pockets, offended.

"So you were the one behind those accidents?" Sam asked.

"How else do I get your attention?"

"Ever heard of a phone?" Dean muttered, still annoyed.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. Sam still couldn't wrap his head around the new vessel. The way the girl stood, the way she spoke, it was completely Gabriel. But it wasn't. The confident stance that made male Gabriel look powerful and a force to be reckoned with only made her look even more of a child. It wasn't that she was a girl, no. it was her body. She was a thin girl with no chest or hips, nothing about her suggested she'd ever been given a position of power in her life. And here she was an angel of the lord, an Archangel. Sam was pulled out of his thoughts by a sudden thud. Dean had Gabriel pinned up against the wall. He had no idea what had been said but clearly it annoyed him.

"Dean! Put him down!" Sam said. Dean obeyed and as Gabriel brushed himself off he looked at him strangely.

"I'm going to bed." Dean grumbled. Only bothering to remove his jacket he flung himself onto one of the beds. Sam yawned; it was rather late and they had been travelling.

"Can I stay here?" Gabriel asked. Sam looked to Dean who was flipping Gabriel off. He nodded at Gabriel and got into the other bed. As he drifted off he saw Gabriel begin to pace the hotel room. _Right, _he thought, _Angel's don't sleep._

* * *

**A/N: **

**Sorry for being so massively slow, this is my first SPN fic and I go a bit mental making sure everything is perfect, running over every bit of dialogue to make sure it flows right out of Sam, Dean and Gabriel's mouths. (although reviews do motivate me hinthint)**

**I'm not really sure what direction I'm taking this in yet, but I know it will end with Gabriel leaving. Why he leaves and what happens before he does, I don't know.**

**Also as you may have noticed, when I'm referring to the vessel (so the physical appearance) I will use she, but Gabriel himself is a he. Hopefully it won't be too confusing.**


	3. Chapter 3

Gabriel wandered around the room, unsure of what to do with himself now the Winchesters were well asleep. Catching sight of himself in the dark window he jumped back. He closed the curtains, furious. How exactly was jumping at his own shadow Archangel material. He slumped into one of the abnormally comfy chairs and tried to think. He'd never had trouble adjusting to a vessel, what made this one so difficult. After 10 minutes it occurred to him it was the probably the change. He'd chosen exclusively male vessels since, well, Jesus. But this girl was a quick, snap decision. She was an emergency choice. Should he try and look for a male one, for comfort? No, that was a stupid idea. The odds of finding another vessel were slim. And then the odds of that vessel being male; it was impossible.

Some time around 2am he thought about asking Raphael for help, he changed parts as quickly as a human could change their shirt.

Around 3am he decided he didn't want anyone to know he was alive.

Half 3. Maybe he'd let Castiel know.

Quarter past 4. He'd kill the Winchesters and vanish. No-one would know.

Twenty past 4. He was hovering over Dean with a knife in his hand. 13 minutes later it fell to the floor. He spent the next hour and a half sat in the middle of the room.

At 6am he picked up the knife again.


End file.
